Chapter III Management
Article 11
Prior to the event of any of the following circumstances, a customs broker granted approval for establishment is required to submit a notification letter to the customs authorities to its effect. A change of registration applications should be processed with the related government authorities; within thirty days following the official date of said change of registration, custom broker should process its change registration and license replacement applications with the customs authorities:
1. Change of responsible person;
2. Change of organization structure or business partners;
3. Change of address,
4. Capital increment or reduction, and
5. Change of business name.
Under one of the following circumstances, the customs broker is required to send a notification letter to the customs authorities within thirty days following the date of its event:
1. Change of authorized customs brokerage manager;
2. The demise of the responsible person or the authorized customs brokerage manager of the customs broker.
Article 12
A customs broker receiving a customs clearance processing assignment from an importer or exporter is required to present a power of attorney establishing such appointment. Where customs broker has a long-standing authorization arrangement with the importer or exporter, customs broker should first present its power of attorney for the registration of the customs authorities; thereafter, customs broker needs only state the official customs registration number in its future customs declaration or transshipment application form; the registration number shall have the same effect as the power of attorney.
The aforementioned power of attorney should be executed under the standard format of the customs authorities. The customs broker should fill out the form truthfully and accurately, as well as properly file such document in its records. During the official file preservation period, the customs authorities may at any time demand for the presentation or examination of such document. In the event that the customs broker is unable to present a power of attorney within the period prescribed by the Customs or does not possess a power of attorney, or that power of attorney contains inaccurate or false statements, customs broker shall be subject to the provisions of related regulations.
The power of attorney mentioned in paragraph 1 may be in the form of an electronic document executed pursuant to the Electronic Signature Act regulations, or online authorizationvia electronic message transmission.
Article 13
In case where a customs broker has been entrusted to make an online declaration, such a declaration shall be submitted according to the commercial invoices, bills of lading, and other relevant documents provided by the importer or exporter concorned, with accurate commodity descriptions, tariff codes, and other information as reguired by customs regulations. Consistency of the electronic data declared with the documents related to such declaration shall be ensured.
The content of the declaration mentioned in the preceding paragraph, before its transmission, shall be reviewed and confirmed, and then digitally signed by using the customs clearance agent by the identification code and password allocated by Customs, or by other means approved by Customs.
A customs broker commissioned to process customs clearance matter should strictly conform to the provisions of the Customs Act, Enforcement Rules of the Customs Act, Regulations for Export Cargo Clearance, Inspection and Release and other related customs laws and regulations. Moreover, customs broker should factually fill out and present all customs declaration related forms and supporting documents; as well as attend to all cargo clearance related matters.
As provided in related customs related laws and regulations, the customs authorities advises the customs broker of the matters requiring its attention and processing, and the customs broker should carefully attend to such duties.
Article 14
The customs broker should process import cargo clearance matter pursuant to the provisions of the Regulations Governing the Prior Release of Cargo.
Article 15
In the matter of cargo subject for cargo inspection or document examination before release, the customs broker should retain the duplicateand other related documents or the electronic file of the Import and Export Declaration it has submitted to the customs authorities, as well as keep such duplicate or electronic file on file during the required record preservation period. The customs authorities are entitled to check or peruse the Import/Export Declaration duplicate or its electronic file at any time.
In case of the cargoes eligible to be released through C1(bypassed) customs clearance mode, or in case where the customs authorities have informed the customs broker of duty payment or cargo release instead of requesting it to submit the verifying documents through online notice or electronic data transmission prior to C1 cargo release, the hard copy of the Customs Declaration and its supporting documents or electronic files should be properly filed in the customs broker's records within the required record preservation period provided in the related customs tariff regulations. The customs authorities may demand the submission or verify such documents at the broker's premises whenever such shall be deemed necessary :
1. Commissioned and handled the line of cargo imported / exported and declared and based on it to declare relevant document of the customs: goods since release their one year from next day.
2. Written declaration form and declare file or their computer file at the customs in accordance with the time limit of the tariff law stipulates.
Where the foregoing Customs Declaration procedures are processed offline, documents should be stamped with the official customs broker seal and the chop of the responsible person or authorized customs brokerage manager.
Article 16
The customs clearance agent is required to pass the Qualification Examination for Professional and Technical Personnel in the category of Customs Clearance Agent. The customs clearance agent passing the Customs Clearance Agent Qualification Examination held by the customs authorities may continue to practice his/her profession.
Article 17
The customs clearance agent may only practice in a customs broker within the same customs district. However, where customs broker has applied for cross-jurisdiction area online declaration processing under the proviso to paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the Regulations, the customs clearance agent may also attend to cross-jurisdiction operations.
The customs broker employer of the customs clearance agent should submit the special qualification examination or qualifying test certificates of the customs clearance agent to the customs office, thereby facilitating the registration of the customs clearance agent and the application of his/her customs broker identification card. The application form should clearly state the following information:
1. Full name, date of birth, citizen's ID no. and address of the customs clearance agent;
2. Customs clearance agent special qualification examination or qualifying test certificate number;
3. Name and address of the customs broker employer;
4. An oath expressing the customs clearance agent's commitment to comply with the provisions of the Regulations; and
5. A declaration stating the absence of the circumstances presented in paragraph 1 of Article 18.
Upon the resignation of a customs clearance agent, his/her customs broker employer is required to process his/her customs registration cancellation with the local customs office and thereafter cancel his/her customs broker identification card. In addition, the customs clearance agent may process his/her cancellation by providing relevant supporting documents to the Customs.
Article 18
Under any of the following circumstances, the customs clearance agent is not allowed to practice; in the case that the agent is registered to practice, such registration should be cancelled. Moreover, a notification letter should be issued to the customs broker employer who is required to conduct an amendment of registration within forty-five days:
1. The presence of one of the circumstances provided in Paragraph 1 of Article 8;
2. Customs registration status is cancelled by the customs authorities under penalty conditions and the three-year period has not elapsed;
3. The agent is a civil service employee or an employee in a state-owned enterprise;
4. The agent is a part-time employee of another customs broker; and
5. the agent acquired his/her practice registration using forged, fabricated, or other false documents and the customs authorities have duly established fact of such violation.
6.In matters related to customsfunctions,the agent uses means of violence, threats, intimidation, public insult, or other illegal means and thereby endangers the personal and property safety of customs personnel, and the customs authorities have duty established fact of such violation and the five-year period has not elapsed.
The aforementioned five-year period of Subparagraph 6 would commence on the date following the day of said behaviors if the agent is not registered; or on the date following the date which the registration is cancelled by the customs authority if the agent is registered to practice.
In the case that the registration of the customs clearance agent is cancelled in accordance with Paragraph 1, Customs shall order the customs broker to return his/her customs broker identification card for invalidation within 3 days; C ustoms shalldirectly announce the cancellation of the identification card in case of failure to return for invalidation before the given period.
Article 19
In event of a change of customs district of service or customs broker employer, the customs clearance agent is required to apply for a new registration and customs broker identification card with the local customs office.
Article 20
The responsibilities of the customs clearance agent are as follow:
1. Evaluate all the customs declaration, cargo release and other related documents of the customs broker for presentation to the customs authorities;
2. Evaluate and sign the Import and Export Declaration processed by the customs broker;
3. Evaluate all the application forms executed by the customs broker for submission to the customs authorities; and
4. See to the submission of signed Import and Export Declarations and their related supporting documents to the customs authorities.
The customs clearance agent processing the foregoing procedure should observe the governing customs duty and tariff regulations, properly evaluate the Import and Export Declaration and other related documents, and at the same time, execute the online declaration procedure. During declaration, the customs clearance agent should make sure that the data contained in the "online customs declaration" are consistent with the data stated in the related customs declaration documents. while commercial invoices, packing lists, and other related documents that are reguired for making import declaration ,may be uploaded by an employee of the customs broker as authorized by the customs clearance agent.
The customs clearance agent processing the evaluation and approval matters provided in paragraph 1 is required to declare his/her full name and customs broker identification card number on the related documents, and at the same time affix his/her signature. This requirement is not applicable to the Import and Export Declaration documents of online customs declarations.
Where customs authorities should have doubts or questions regarding the customs clearance agent signed Customs Declaration Form and/or online customs declaration or other related documents, the customs authorities may issue a notice requiring the presence and explanation of the customs clearance agent at the customs office.
A customs clearance agent receiving a notification letter from the customs authorities to attend the further education seminars organized for customs clearance agent by the customs office or its authorized independent establishment, is required to comply with such request unless otherwise excused for valid reasons.
Article 21
The customs clearance agent should desist from the following behavior:
1. Lending his/her name or lending his/her clearance certificate or password to the use of another party for processing customs related matters;
2. Using his/her status as a customs clearance agent to execute fraudulent approvals;
3. Demanding compensatory arrangements or accepting illegal commission payments;
4. Soliciting business through illegal or wrongful means;
5. Failing to require or institute corrections despite full awareness of inaccuracies or errors contained in the Declaration Form filed;
6. Affixing his/her signature and chop on blank Declaration Forms, or other acts similar in nature;
7. Disclosing contents of trading documents or business secrets of the customers to other parties; and
8. Other actions in violation of customs and tariff related laws and regulations.
Article 22
Under one of the following circumstances, the customs clearance agent should refuse to approve import/export declaration forms, as well as should report matter to the customs authorities:
1. The customer or the customs broker employer demands that the agent sign a fraudulent or false declaration form.
2. The customer or the customs broker employer intentionally refused to provide factual or the necessary information or documents.
3. Other acts of suppression or deception of the customer or the customs broker employer making it impossible to accurately evaluate and sign a declaration form.
Article 23
The customs broker should prepare enough manpower and temporary workers to attend to the cargo moving, unpacking, crate removal, packaging restoration and other procedures necessary to facilitate the cargo inspection procedure of the customs authorities.
Article 24
With the exception of the customs clearance agent who is required to first acquire a customs broker identification card under Article 17 and Article 19 of these Regulations, the customs broker should ensure that the employees hired to attend to its customs brokerage operations should be duly registered with the customs authorities for customs broker identification card issuance. Customs authorities may investigate criminal records of the customs clearance agent or other employees when necessary ; thereafter, upon the resignation of said employee, the customs broker is required to report the matter to the customs authorities in writing or online within 1 working day commencing from the date following the employee’s resignation and return the employee's identi fication card for invalidation within 7 days; C ustoms shall directly announce the cancellation of the identification card in case of failure to return for invalidation before the given period.
Customs may investigate criminal records of special customs officers or employees when necessary.
The procedures for the aforementioned identification card application and return for invalidation may be submitted to the customs brokers association, which shall then forward such case to the customs authorities for processing. With the exception of the employees of duty licensed customs clearance agent for whom Article 18 of these Regulations applies to, the custom broker employee’s application for his/her identification card should be denied under one of the following circumstances; where the identification card is issued, Customs shall order the customs broker to return his/her customs broker identification card for invalidation within 3 days; C ustoms shall directly announce the cancellation of the identification card in case of fail ure to return for invalidation before the given period.
1. The presence of one of the circumstances provided in Subparagraph 9, Paragraph 1 of Article 8;
2. In matters related to customs functions, the employee uses means of violence, threats, intimidation, public insult, or other illegal means and thereby endangers the personal and property safety of customs personnel, and the customs authorities have duty es tablished fact of such violation and the five year period has not elapsed.
The customs broker employee, whose identification card has been issued by the customs authorities in the presence of one of the circumstances provided in Subparagraph 9, Paragraph 1 of Article 8 with the exception of being convicted of a crime under Punishment of Smuggling Act before the implementation of the amended provision of preceding paragraph , s ubparagraph 1 effective on May 26 th , 2023, shall be subject to the provision of the subparagraph after this amendment has been implemented for six months.
Article 24-1
A customs broker employee processing customs related matters inside the Customs area of jurisdiction should carry his/her customs broker identification card and strictly observe and accept the legitimate instructions of Customs officials. When processing customs declaration or duty payment matters with Customs, said employee serves as a representative of the customs broker, as such, the represented customs broker shall be held liable for whatever actions said employee may take. However, where the customs broker has taken all the necessary measures and caution during the employment of such employee or during the supervision of the employee's action, the custom broker shall be indemnified from the aforementioned liability.
Article 25
The customs broker should desist from the following behaviors:
1. Disclosure of the customer trade documents or business secrets acquired from the customer;
2. Collaborate with their customers to commit corruption;
3. Demand, make compensatory arrangements, bribe or provide other illegal benefits affecting the behaviors of customs personnel or functions of customs offices;
4. Pad customs fees charged to customers, commit fraud or embezzlement, or intentionally delay the declaration, duty payment, or clearance of import or export cargoes;
5. In matters related to customs functions,the agent uses means of violence, threats, intimidation, public insult, or other illegal means and thereby endangers the personal and property safety of customs personnel.
6. Other actions in violation of customs and tariff related laws and regulations.
Article 26
The customs broker fees and charges to be collected for customs brokerage services rendered should be pursuant to the approved fee schedule of the local customs brokers association under which broker belongs. A copy of the fee schedule should be forwarded to the customs authorities. The condition shall apply to future fee schedule amendments.
Article 27
The customs broker should post the fee schedule at a visible and obvious position within its business premises, or disclose the fee schedule in other proper manners. Fees and chargers should be collected as stated in the fee schedule. Customs broker is not authorized to alter fee rates arbitrarily or on account of extra expenses. An official invoice or official receipt should be issued for fee payments received; said invoice or receipt should state in detail, the fees and charges collected.
Article 28
The customs broker should have an annual journal that contains a log of the Import and Export Declaration form numbers. The customs authorities may, after notifying customs brokers association, request to audit the related accounts journal invoices, receipts, or other computer files, whenever such is deemed necessary.
The aforementioned journal may be recorded by computer and stored into a floppy disk, magnetic tape, CD or other storage medium. Moreover, the customs broker is required to cooperate with the audit requirements of the customs authorities and submit a hard copy of such records.
Article 29
A customs broker discovering an error or miscalculation in the customs duty payable amount stated in the payment form should immediately report such error to the customs authorities for amendment. In the event that discovery is made after payment, but within the deadline provided in Article 65 paragraph 2 of the Customs Act, the customs broker should notify the customs authorities of the payable shortfall amount and advise the duty-payer to pay for the shortfall. In the event of a payment surplus, the customs broker should notify the duty-payer, thus enabling the duty-payer to request for a refund payment from the customs authorities.
Article 30
The customs broker is prohibited from lending its name to the use of another party for the operation of import and export cargo customs clearance related agency operations; moreover customs broker is prohibited from using the name of another customs broker in the processing of its import and export cargo customs clearance related agency operations.
Article 31
Where the customs broker has dissolved or voluntarily closed operations, an official notification letter should be submitted to the customs authorities; license of said customs broker shall be cancelled within five days from the incidence date of the fact. In the event of a custom broker closure due to the cancellation of its customs broker operating license, broker is required to return the customs broker operating license issued by the customs authorities within five days following its license cancellation.
A customs broker under operation suspension is required to notify the customs authorities of such suspension in writing; the same will be true upon the resumption of operations. A broker that processes customs clearance and customs duty payment matters during the period of suspension shall be regarded as having resumed operations.
The aforementioned operation suspension period or a continuous period of no business activity record should not exceed six months. A one-time extension may be granted to customs brokers under special circumstances; maximum period of such extension is six months.
Article 32
The customs authorities shall issue certificate of appreciation or commendation to a customs clearance agent that has complete at least three years of customs brokerage work and complies with the conditions of the related regulations.
The regulations for the foregoing matter are subject to the discretion of the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance.
Article 33
Where a customs broker meets the regulated conditions, the customs authorities may reduce the random inspection ratio of the cargo which customs clearance is processed by said broker.
Conditions to be met in the foregoing shall be determined at the discretion of the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance.